February 2007 E-Newsletter
Contents:
• Dear Friends: Who are the DOers in this industry?
• Q&A: "How old of a horse can be schooled with your Dually Halter?"
• Monty's Principles for People: Join-Up is Like Love
• Fish & Ride with Monty: June 2007
• New Instructors: Anne van der Toorn (Holland) and Ann Lindberg (Sweden)
• Where in the world is Monty on tour next? Click here!
• Monty’s Challenge: NEW FEATURE to test your Join-Up “know how”
• Upcoming issues
• Monty hosts all new RFD TV episodes from around the world
• Today! On air with Monty! Call-In Radio Live!
Dear Friends
I am happy to report from the road that the UK Tour is quite gratifying. I have worked with some marvelous horses that you will be hearing about in subsequent books and columns. It is snowing in England which is unusual but the Team here is a completely dedicated group of which I stand in awe of. Developments of note are conversations with publishers. They have convinced me that there is another important book to be written that continues to teach the concepts based on your questions. It is with this in mind that I need your help. Please keep your questions coming to me. You are the ‘DO’ers in this industry, seeking answers to improve your understanding of, and relationship with, the horses we have come to love. Many people know by now that my life’s goal is to leave the world a better place than I found it, for horses and for people too. You know that I cannot do it by myself. Each of you will realize that if we are to succeed in becoming better partners with our horses, it will take an army of individuals who care. You can be part of that army.
There is a movement on this earth of ours to understand horses better and to treat them in a far more reasonable way than we have in the past. I congratulate those who would seek information by asking questions. Through this act they are living up to their responsibility to learn as much as they can about the horses they admire. I accept my part of this same responsibility by doing my best to answer these questions.
Before I began this e.Newsletter, I had very little idea of how educational it was to answer questions. It requires one to reach into the recesses of their memory, to replay the mental video of experiences from their past and to extract from them effective solutions to the challenges met on a daily basis while training horses. I enjoyed this experience, and it is my hope that you will enjoy delving into the answers.
We have had domesticated horses on this earth for approximately 8,000 years and, until I came along, it seems there was an unwritten rule that no one questioned the authority of experienced horsemen. Most of the readers of this book can remember times when the professional horseman would state emphatically “Just do what I tell you and don’t ask any questions.”
With this mindset, our knowledge of the horse’s mind virtually stood still. We did things almost exactly the same for those full 8,000 years. While tradition can be a wonderful exercise to respect the past, it also can be an impediment to progress. Entry-level people to any discipline have the right to question, and it is my opinion the experienced person has the obligation to answer.
-Monty
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February 14 , 2007 Question and Answer
Question: We recently purchased a 17 month old colt. He has been started but still needs work. He drives and can be ridden by a light weight person in the barn. However, his training must have been confined within the walls of the barn only because he gets spooked when a car passes by. We have worked with him extensively and he is doing better. However, we have only been leading him instead of driving or riding. We do not have a barn large enough to work him in; therefore, we are working out in the open. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks, Mary
Monty's Answer: All transitions in training present us with problems. Making the transition from inside to outside can often present you with episodes of spookiness similar to what you described. My recommendation is to school to the Dually Halter so that you have full control of your horse. One needs to stop down any desire to blast away from you at the sight of an automobile or a tractor, etc. Once you have achieved complete control, then you can begin to present sights such as bicycles passing by or automobiles, tractors or the like.
Should you choose, you can get the DVD Dealing with Your Spooky Horse and by executing these procedures you can change the mindset of your animals to be far more accepting of items which drive him crazy at this point in time.
-Monty
Monty's Principles for People
Join-Up is Like Love
by Stephen Taylor
Well according to 8 year old Amy, JOIN-UP® is like love. When one looks up the dictionary definition of the word love I believe you would find it difficult to argue with Amy. With such inclusions as “wholehearted liking for, affection, warmth, fondness and regard towards a person,” all seem congruent with JOIN-UP to me.
Amy’s statement was her contribution to her class’s discussion on whether they thought they had achieved JOIN-UP as a class or not. The class, with their teacher had worked hard to achieve a classroom with a very positive attitude towards each other and their studies. The initial impetus for their efforts was the watching of Monty’s JOIN-UP video. During the video the teacher and children talked about how Monty worked with the young filly (no violence), how the round pen was like a classroom and, most importantly, how the young horse did things because she wanted to without any violent coercion.
Unanimously the children agreed that they had achieved JOIN-UP as a whole class. Why? Because to quote the children...
"We are like a family"
"We care and look after and out for each other"
"We do things the first time because we want to"
"There is something special about our class"
"We have respect, trust and loyalty for and to each other"
"We have a nice working environment, work sensibly, share and have fun lessons"
"We all take part otherwise we wouldn’t be how we are now. Class 5P and Mrs P have a ‘bond’, we have JOIN-UP."
Something I’ve learnt is that it often takes a child to help adults see!
As for Amy’s comment, I thank her for helping me to see that JOIN-UP and LOVE are a match.
Stephen Taylor is the talented teacher from the Kingshurst Junior School in Birmingham England who is collaborating with Monty on the use of Join-Up® concepts in the classroom. To learn more about Stephen, click here.
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A Chance to Fish & Ride with Monty
June 2007
Last year, Monty and I were given a 50th anniversary gift from our children’s families. It was an extraordinary experience and a dream of a vacation, our first in many years. We enjoyed our time at Clearwater Lodge on the Pitt River so much that while there an idea was born. How wonderful it would be in 2007 share this adventure with friends and call it a Fish & Ride Adventure.
Because of forestry regulations we can only ride out with ten horses at a time, therefore we will be splitting into groups to ride with Monty. Each group will have a trail guide or horse wrangler. We envision riding out with Monty in the morning; stop, possibly to fish for a period of time and then having a picnic lunch nearby on the trail. For those interested, guides can be available to coach fly fishing along the trail in the beautiful streams and rivers. Monty loves to share his casting tips too!
Our daughter, Laurel made contact with one of the fishing guides from the Lodge who has rental horses available for guests who aren’t able to bring a horse. The greatest asset of this area is that there are all sorts of activities available in a setting that can only be described as magnificent.
For those that don’t wish to ride, there is fishing, river rafting, golfing, antique shopping and the area cries out to the artistic inspiration for painters. For those interested in painting or sculpting, artists will be available during the day to do one or two art sessions as arranged. We will also take a trip to Burney for antiquing and/or sight seeing if there is an interest on the part of attendees.
We were there in the middle of June and the fishing, climate and everything about Clearwater Lodge was beyond our wildest expectations. The accommodations and the food prepared by an expert chef were outstanding. Building on our impromptu idea, we tried to pick dates in 2007 that might coincide with classes from Monty’s academy for those who come from long distances.
We have arranged the following schedule. Arrival is Wednesday evening, June 27 through breakfast Sunday morning, July 1. The lodge is located in northeastern California between Burney and Fall River Mills. The lodge lies between Mount Shasta and Mount
Lassen. You can go to their website which is www.clearwaterlodge.com to get further information about the lodge and location. The one catch about this adventure that we can only take the first 20 double or single occupancies that sign up, as the lodge has a limited amount of available rooms.
Most of the available 20 are double rooms, but they also have an annex building as well. That’s where our grandsons, Matt and Adam stayed last June. On the premises are large two and three-bedroom cabins within walking distance from the lodge and possibly something like that could be worked out with Dick Gellen, owner/manager of Clearwater Lodge.
The following is a breakdown of what the actual costs will be:
Single occupancy person: $3,050
Lodge, includes food and room for 4 nights
Breakfast, lunch and dinner
One day riding for one
Double occupancy: $4,100
Lodge, including food and room for 4 nights
Breakfast, lunch and dinner
One day riding for two
Double occupancy: $3,950
Lodge, including food and room for 4 nights
Breakfast, lunch and dinner
One day riding for one
Additional costs:
Full-day rate for fishing guides are $350 for one or two anglers, a third angler is $75. A full day begins at 8 a.m. and goes until dark. This includes lunch and soft drinks.
Half-day rates are $300 for one or two anglers, and a third angler is $50. Morning half days start at 8 a.m. and ends early afternoon. Afternoon half-day rates start after lunch at the lodge and end at dark.
Evening fishing sessions are $150 for one or two anglers, and $50 for an additional angler. Evening fishing sessions start at 7 p.m. and end at dark.
Rates are available for golfing and/or golfing and fishing days, as well as white-water rafting. Just call 530.335.5500 and speak with Dick Gellen, www.clearwaterlodge.com.
Please feel free to call write or email recently how many are interested and what your special interest will be. You can reach Laurel at hotstable@aol.com or telephone 831.682.1121 and me at patr@montyroberts.com or telephone 805.688.4382/688.3368.
Thanks in advance. I am looking forward to a great response to a very special adventure with Monty.
Warm regards,
Pat Roberts
NEW FEATURE!
Monty’s Challenge
I want all of my students to learn to be better trainers than me! Test yourself each week as I challenge you to answer the question from below by writing to newsletter@montyroberts.com. I mean this. Sit down and write an answer. Don't wait for my answer next week.
If you have been reading my Weekly Questions and Answers for the last six months, you should be in a position to do this.
Why should you bother? Because it will help you focus. There is probably a comparable question in your life that needs answering – or will be. If you can gain insight into how to go about answering a practical question that is loosely related to your problem, this exercise will help you answer your nagging question.Then read my answer. Then read my other answers at this link: Ask Monty. The closest answer to mine each week will be awarded a DVD but more importantly you will learn! That's good for you! That's good for horses!
-Monty
Next Week’s Question to Answer:
What do you say to the people who state that your techniques are not gentle, but violent in a psychological way?
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Look for these upcoming issues!
• Profile of Certified Instructor, Rob Horne of Australia
• Monty's first Tour Event in Finland
• Events at Flag Is Up Farms
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